Invitations

My cousin/bff is getting married in April. I always find it a bit tricky to design things for family and friends- they're like clients that never go away! Naturally I was a bit nervous about how her invites would turn out and if she would approve.

We put them together this weekend, it was nice to finally see the finished product. She was so excited, which made me breathe a sigh of relief. It was a bit of a challenge, especially when she described what she wanted as follows: (and I quote) "I want something elegant, and romantic but still simple that includes chocolate brown and robin's egg blue with a branch and a birdcage imagery somewhere on the invite".  Ok..got it..I think. The paper doilies made the perfect romantic (and cheap!) touch she was wanting. Success!

I'm still a good graphic designer.

See? And you thought I'd thrown all my graphic design skills out the window for fine art..how dare you.

This was the official invite sent out for our niece's birthday party. How could one NOT use this picture I ask??

I Married Adventure

I Married Adventure, The Perfume (oprah.com)

I saw the book, I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson, popping up in almost every interior design blog and magazine a few years ago. Mesmerized by the couples amazing love story and the beautiful vintage zebra cover, I knew I had to have one. I was finally able to track down the original 1940's version at a bookstore in North Carolina that was going out of business for a mere $8. I love this book so much, in fact, that I've decided to use it in my vignettes for my paintings on the new website.

Oprah has featured it in her June 2010 issue and since then there has been a Kate Spade purse, a perfume and even a movie coming out! It's so funny to me how things like this come about, I bet Martin and Osa would be so happy about their books new-found cult following!

Announcement!

I have to admit that I've been a little lax on my post lately. BUT there's a reason that I want to share with you. I've been working my fingers to the bone creating an entirely new website! On this website you will find the results of my first love: Paintings. I've been painting almost everyday and feel the need to take you on my journey as I become the next Pollock. I just can't seem to put the brush down and have decided to stop hiding my true love!

We decided that we wanted a more centralized place where we can have our own creative work on display (instead of Etsy), so I've been hard at work coding out and creating the new site. Don't worry nothing is happening to this one though ( I'll just have a link over to the new one on my nav bar).

WITH THAT BEING SAID- I wanted to announce that I'll be taking a little break to work on my new site; possibly a week or two, just to make sure my new baby is taken care of in it's infant stage :)

Above is a sneak peek of a few of my paintings as well as a peek of the user friendly site. I plan on selling mainly paintings with prints and Josh's concrete creations as well, but who knows what else we might create! ( Ray and Charles anyone?  :)

I'm so excited to finally tell you and can't wait to share it with you all!

New print now available for purchase!

Such an exciting day! My newest print, Costa Rican Shell (in sunshine yellow) is now available for purchase in my print shop! It looks great layered with a typographical print, as one interior designer has in her house ( see pics in the shop).

This print was created from a sketch I created of a conch shell that my husband found on the Costa Rican coast. I was so mesmerized by the texture and lines of the shell that I found myself sketching it one night.

I hope you will consider it for your home to brightening up this spring season. And as always, have a wonderful weekend!

Limited Edition Tee Collection Available NOW!

 

I'm so excited to tell you all that my Inspired House of Wright limited edition tees are available NOW! Grab one today!

Happy Friday everyone!

Royally Sick of the Royal Wedding?

By Lydia Leith Design

Although I am excited about the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, I couldn't help but giggle when I saw these.

Coco Chanel Inspired Baby shower

In  NO WAY am I ready for the baby chapter, but if I were, I would have a baby shower that looked something like this...I'm officially IN LOVE!

(via  Blair Britt Weddings & Events)

The Art Institutes " Create Tomorrow" Campaign

When I saw this I had to share, after all The Art Institute is my alma mater! In its first work for The Art Institutes, independent ad agency David&Goliath shows that indeed the world is a canvas with a series of ads that promote the abundance of opportunity the world has to offer. From the aisles of a mundane grocery story to the heart of Times Square, opportunities are everywhere and an education in fashion, design, media or the culinary arts can help create the future.

I hope you have a great weekend. In the meantime, enjoy these links:

How cool are these vertical gardens?

#obsessed

Yipee skippy Google Bookmarks!

xo rachel

Vintage vacay

Do you ever have the urge to jump in the car and take off for a moment? I've got the worst case of that right now!

Is it the weather? Or maybe it's because I haven't had a vacay since my honeymoon last May? I dunno..just ignore my words and look at these fun vintage motel signs ;)

P.S. Don't forget our blog crawl-A Toast to the Oscar's this week starting with  Cornflake Dreams!

Art History 101

But seriously. Where's Bob Ross owns 30 minute happy landscapes..?

Have a good weekend y'all!

{Guest Post} Cornflake Dreams

Hello again! The winter in Chicago has no signs of slowing down, with more snow falling everyday. I am constantly thinking of spring and sunshine. Here are a few things I am looking forward to: 

psst... want to see more?! Here are a few of my favorite posts::

fashion:: dream outfit, the perfect accessory

travel:: dream vacation , favorite trip

design:: my fave etsy shops,

life and love:: a little more about meeee

{Guest Blogger} Cornflake Dreams

Good morning! It's Jillian from Cornflake Dreams, and like Rachel, my 'real job' is in marketing and i love all things design. I am a right brain thinker and I gravitate towards visually appealing images.

I started Cornflake Dreams, a life and style blog about all the dreamy things in the city and travels abroad, as an outlet for my desire to be creative outside of work.

A huge thank you to the lovely Rachel for allowing me to take over her blog today!  Be sure to stop back later today for a peek at what i am looking forward to this spring.

xoxo jillian

My wedding invitations

This time last year, I was finalizing the design of my wedding invitations, and although I never pictured anyone but myself designing it, I was a complete and utter mess trying to finalize the concept.

How could I possibly wrap up mine and Josh's long history on one single piece of paper? It was honestly one of the most stressful design projects I've ever had!

I ended up not settling on one, but actually three pieces, and I stacked and bundled them up in twine with a little tag holding them together like a 'lil story book. I loved Matt Dorfman's story invites and saw a DIY tutorial online on how to recreate them (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?) so after designing the first and third parts on my own I thought recreating a story like his of me and Josh would be the perfect piece to add in the middle. I wish I would have thought to take photos of the finished 'bundle' but my pre-wedding brain was in complete overdrive : /

I hope you enjoy– Have a great weekend lovelies!!

P.S. Celebrating the Hubster's 27th birthday on Sunday..yippee!

P.S.S. Don't forget to join me next week as I get a visit from Jillian, of Cornflake Dreams!

High Gloss magazine

This morning, I officially fell head over heels IN L-O-V-E as I scoured the pages of a new (and oh-so amazing) source for design ideas. If you haven't looked into it yet, you absolutely MUST should check out High Gloss magazine, a great source for design, decor and fashion inspiration.

....Promise you won't be disappointed ;)

How to describe your stuff on Craigslist...

(via me-machine)

Meet Nicole.

Nicole Moss Grillet is my bff.  I wanted to take a moment to share with you just one of the reasons why I love this gal {   this much   }.

You see,  many moons ago two [odd] art students figured out a genius way to procrastinate during college classes.Their Photoshop class was quite tedious and they had pretty much learned it on their own anyway, so they began to entertain themselves by crafting each other's faces onto random people's bodies. Over time, the images that they would send to each other ended would end up morphing into how they expressed their day-to-day emotions. From anger to encouragement, there was a photo for every feeling.  "I'm mad at her. Hey, I know!? I'll stick her face on ___'s body so I can laugh at her." 

Below is a portion of our odd collection that I would like to share with you for a laugh. I hope you enjoy these silly images and the story behind each of them.

My bad day became instantly better when I found this lovely image of myself as Wynonna Judd waiting in my inbox. Because nothing makes you feel quite as good as being Wynonna Judd.

This was my birthday present to Nicole last year. She has a thing for creepy wedding photos where the couples look like they're having an  out of body experience. ( By the way her hubby Dan, in fact, does not have a mullet. It was merely added in for overall trashy effect).

To much shock and surprise, I found this lovely pic hanging out in my Facebook photos one day.

Nicole loves Oprah. I thought meeting her would make her day extra special.

Nicole refers to me as Sarah Palin when I do my glasses/updo combo. Again, she posted this little number on Facebook much to my surprise.

Nicole wanted a new hairstyle. I gave her just the inspiration for the job.


Now for the inevitable question: What strange/awesome things do you and your friends do to give each other a laugh?